Trea Turner homered and Julio Urias won for a major-league-leading 16th time as the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers evened their showdown series against the San Francisco Giants with a 6-1 victory Saturday night.
Urias (16-3) combined with four relievers on a nine-hitter, helping the Dodgers (86-50) avenge an 11-inning loss 24 hours earlier and regain a first-place tie with the Giants (86-50) atop the National League West.
With Alex Wood’s COVID illness and Johnny Cueto’s sore shoulder forcing the Giants to use a procession of relievers, the Dodgers jumped on Jay Jackson (2-1) and Jarlin Garcia for three first-inning runs.
After Turner’s leadoff homer, his 21st of the season, Mookie Betts and Justin Turner drew consecutive one-out walks from Jackson, prompting Garcia to be summoned from the bullpen just four batters into the game.
After the baserunners moved up via steals, Corey Seager made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly before A.J. Pollock capped the three-run uprising with an RBI double.
That’s all the run support Urias and relievers Alex Vesia, Phil Bickford, Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol would need.
The Giants bounced right back with a run in their half of the first on a Buster Posey RBI double, but that was the last of their scoring.
They had nine hits — all but one off Urias in his 5 2/3 innings — before the Los Angeles bullpen retired 10 of the 12 Giants it faced. LaMonte Wade Jr. was the only Giant to get on base in the last three innings, via a hit batsman in the seventh and a ground-rule double in the ninth.
Urias struck out eight and did not walk anyone in running his string of unbeaten starts to 12.
In winning for the 21st time in their last 26 games, the Dodgers increased their lead to 4-1 in the sixth on a Jose Quintana balk, then tacked on a pair in the ninth on a leadoff homer by Seager, his eighth, and a sacrifice fly by Albert Pujols.
Seager had two RBIs and Turner scored twice for the Dodgers, who drew even at 9-9 in the season series.
Posey collected three hits and Kris Bryant two for the Giants, who saw a two-game winning streak come to an end.
Related: MLB power rankings 2022 – Houston Astros, New York Yankees battle for No.1 spot
–Field Level Media